“Ethnic Cleansing” is the purest form of racism. UC Regent Ward Connerly, a Black man, made $910,433 last year from two nonprofit conservative organizations and speaking fees to launch Proposition 54, the ethnic cleanser, and to destroy affirmative action wherever he could. Proposition 54 would effectively implement a type of ethnic cleansing by barring the State of California and local governments from collecting data on race, ethnicity and national origin in the operation of education, public contracting or public employment. This Proposition, scheduled on the Oct. 2003 ballot, would erase Black people from the face of California and eliminate Hispanics before they can make any gains under the California non-white majority population of 53% (2000 census).

This initiative would also make it virtually impossible to find out whether people are being discriminated against or to create public policy that would counter the effects of racism. Connerly’s proposed “color blind society” would “blind” the people and government to discrimination. Black people would become colorless and with no documentation allowed, racism would be boundless.

The potential impacts of Prop 54 on health care and bio-medical industries have stirred strong opposition from nearly all major statewide medical and health organizations. Because the health research exemptions are vaguely written, it would stifle both public and private research needed to protect and promote public health. Furthermore, it would leave a trail of unintended consequences for public health and medical research. For instance, breast cancer rates are higher among white women, but more African-American women die from the disease! How would one know this? In the case of national origin, how would one know that tuberculosis acquired in the Philippines is more likely to be resistant to standard drug treatments? Consider the prevalence of diseases in the African American Communities such as sickle cell anemia, diabetes and AIDS? “How can we stop the spread of disease if we can’t target the communities that are most at risk,” questions the Coalition for an Informed California. “Just count on the cemeteries filling up on the Black side of town,” is the message from The Black Commentator. The Proposition will also prevent one from being listed as “Black” on one’s death certificate, or even birth certificate, for that matter. From cradle to grave, the impacts will be enormous in every aspect of California life.`

Newspaper articles refer to Connerly as a ward of the super-wealthy, charged with inciting racial conflict, so that they could stay on top. For example, white contractors do about 95% of all State contracting since the passage of Prop 209, “gutting” affirmative action. With Prop 54 forbidding the reporting of contracts data, large white contractors would be guaranteed the status quo of 95% of the work forever. Bottom line, Black folks, and all people of color, better get to the polls on Oct. 7 and take 10 voters with them to vote ”No on 54.”